Religious Education

We follow the SACRE Warwickshire and Coventry Agreed Syllabus for teaching Religious Education. We have created our own schemes of work based on using Understanding Christianity and Discovery RE. Concepts and key questions are arranged in year groups to ensure that there is breadth and balance of study throughout the school.  Discovery RE supports us in teaching other religions and faiths and Understanding Christianity ensures that children develop a deep understanding of the Christian faith.  

Key Objectives 

We aim to enable children of all abilities and levels of development to: 

1. Acquire and develop knowledge and understanding of principal world faiths practised in Great Britain.  These include Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Sikhism.

2. Develop an understanding of the influence of beliefs, values and traditions on individuals, communities, societies and cultures, including the local community. 

3. Develop the ability to make reasoned and informed judgements about religious and moral issues with reference to the teachings of the principal religions. 

4. Enhance their own spiritual, moral, social and cultural development by: 

  • developing awareness of the fundamental questions of life arising from human experiences, and how religious beliefs and practices can relate to them; 
     
  • responding to the fundamental questions of life in the light of their experience and with reference to religious beliefs and practices;
  • reflecting on their own beliefs, values and experiences in the light of their study;
  • expressing their own personal viewpoints in a thoughtful, reasoned and considerate way;

 5. Recognise the right of people to hold different beliefs within an ethnically and socially diverse society. 

Content 

The RE curriculum seeks both to a) impart knowledge and b) develop understanding of religious experiences, feelings and attitudes. Content is focused around six key areas: 

  • Beliefs and teachings – e.g. stories, religious leaders, books, God/gods, self-sacrifice, truth, life after death;
  • Religious practices and lifestyles – e.g. people, festivals, pilgrimages, places, events, artefacts, lifestyle choices, actions, effects on individuals;
  • Ways of expressing meaning – e.g. sacred texts, art, music, literature, symbolism, poetry, dance, drama, prayer, forms of religious and spiritual expression, silence/stillness; 
  • Human identity, personality and experience – e.g. belonging, preferences, relationships within family and community, influences on own lives, inspirational people;
  • Questions of meaning and purpose – e.g. amazement, sadness, disappointment, joy, awe, in connection with the natural world and life’s journey, making sense, ultimate questions of life raised by life experiences;
  • Values and commitments – e.g. values, ethics, principles, rules, morality.